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summervl's review
4.0
Most stories were excellent, but two stood out above the rest. Lauren Groff's "Delicate, Edible Birds" and Tea Olbrecht's haunting "The Laugh" were outstanding, stories I won't soon forget.
seanmcfinn's review
4.0
This year's - wait, last year's - Best American Short Stories is a great collection. It's not that some years are bad; it's that the editor's picks don't jibe with my sensibilities, tastes or whatever those things are that make me like one order of sentences and choice of words over another.
There are no weak link stories in this collection. I could name the ones I liked least, but I they're still good stories; I will say that Ron Rash's 'Ascent', Maggie Shipstead's 'The Cowboy Tango' and Brendan Mathews 'Last Attempt To Explain To You What happened To The Lion Tamer' crushed me. I want to read the collection again because right now I don't even remember them all! The second reading of a story is usually deeper, and more rewarding for me anyway. I could hear echoes of Richard Russo's voice in the stories; in all the writing there is the pathos of people doing their best but knowing struggle and sabotage as hard habit, and an always honest, sometimes weary humor. And all the stories are so personal. None of them skim the water, there's just a plunge happening. Thanks for the collection Mrs Pitlor and Mr Russo.
There are no weak link stories in this collection. I could name the ones I liked least, but I they're still good stories; I will say that Ron Rash's 'Ascent', Maggie Shipstead's 'The Cowboy Tango' and Brendan Mathews 'Last Attempt To Explain To You What happened To The Lion Tamer' crushed me. I want to read the collection again because right now I don't even remember them all! The second reading of a story is usually deeper, and more rewarding for me anyway. I could hear echoes of Richard Russo's voice in the stories; in all the writing there is the pathos of people doing their best but knowing struggle and sabotage as hard habit, and an always honest, sometimes weary humor. And all the stories are so personal. None of them skim the water, there's just a plunge happening. Thanks for the collection Mrs Pitlor and Mr Russo.
bibliocyclist's review
4.0
Love was sometimes like silence, beautiful but hard to bear.
But then, somehow, usually by accident, you experience joy. And the problem with joy is that it binds you to life; it makes you greedy for more happiness. You experience avarice. You hope your life will go on forever.
Green nuclei of fireflies,
The red commas of two fires.
Here I am trying to eulogize Mother Nature and this is the tableau she presents me with.
"Let those with abundance remember that they are surrounded by thorns."
But then, somehow, usually by accident, you experience joy. And the problem with joy is that it binds you to life; it makes you greedy for more happiness. You experience avarice. You hope your life will go on forever.
Green nuclei of fireflies,
The red commas of two fires.
Here I am trying to eulogize Mother Nature and this is the tableau she presents me with.
"Let those with abundance remember that they are surrounded by thorns."
karencarlson's review
4.0
Detailed comments on each story plus intro and summary (with possible spoilers) on A Just Recompense
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